


no common ground to start from

by promiseswemade



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23526907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/promiseswemade/pseuds/promiseswemade
Summary: this is a little something i wrote back when season 1 has only started to air, before all the messy plots that i'm no longer following as i stopped watching riverdale early season 3, but anyway!! i hope you guys enjoy this season 1 inspired nostalgic piece. comments are very appreciated! i have an idea for more chapters, let me know if you guys would like to see that happen. thank you!
Relationships: Jughead Jones & Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	no common ground to start from

“No.”

At that, she gapes at him for a good minute as she graciously sits onto the couch next to him, sliding her laptop onto the coffee table. Jughead can’t help but wince internally as he watches her eyes widen in horror, staring at him with such intent that he finds himself putting quite an effort not to break eye contact.

“Veronica, I am _not_ watching chick flicks with you,” he insists nonetheless, running a hand across his face tiredly as an exasperated sigh slips past his chapped lips.

At this point, Jughead’s not sure how he ended up in the luxurious living room of the Lodge apartment at the Pembrooke (it’s _small_ , Veronica warned as she led him inside and he had to bite back a snarky remark in response; he was sure their definitions of small were significantly different).

(Okay, fine. It might all have been Jughead’s own doing.

He might have been the one to _accidentally_ happen to linger around Riverdale High at the time the cheer practice finished, unconsciously eyeing the crowd of River Vixens for one with raven locks, head held high as if she was not in a dreadful small-town high school, but New York, the city that belonged to her.)

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s is not a chick flick.” She states firmly and purses her lips, indignation written all over her face.

“It is.”

“How _dare_ you—It’s a classic!” Veronica continues to stare at Jughead incredulously.

A moment or two passes and he almost finds it odd that the silence that settles between them isn’t uncomfortable. 

“You’re just afraid you’re actually going to like it,” she tries again, relentless as ever.

“I can assure you I won’t like it, Veronica.” Jughead grumbles, head shaking slowly in disapproval, though he feels his resolve beginning to shake, unable to hold her gaze.

“Whatever. Just play the damn thing,” he mumbles under his breath, a dramatic huff of air following his words as he tries to remain unaffected by the wide, triumphant smile claiming her lips. It’s so… _different_ than what he’s used to seeing from the ice princess herself. Not a smug little smirk, followed by one of her signature quips, or merely a ghost of a smile, but an actual real smile. He feels a surge of warmth at the realization that he’s the one that caused it. And frankly, Jughead doesn’t know what to do with that piece of knowledge.

He tries not to overthink it and instead focuses on the film that’s starting to play and _of course_ Smithers brings a large bowl of popcorn that the ever-famished teen devours all too quickly. He’s always been known to have quite the appetite, which tends to become an even bigger problem when he’s nervous. Yes, Jughead Jones is nervous because of Veronica Lodge.

He also tries not to overthink the one time their hands touch while fishing for the remnants of popcorn, the moment lingering longer than it should. But it’s also highly possible that he’s just imagining things. After all, this entire afternoon feels surreal as it is.

It's also surreal how easily they fall into a rhythm that feels oddly comfortable. Familiar. _Their_ rhythm.

Veronica reminiscing about New York, making remarks how a certain scene is different than the book or that yes, this is exactly the expression she imagined Holly would make. In his true fashion, Jughead slips out a pretentious comment or two simply because it feels wrong not to. It’s what everyone expects out of him, right? It’s also fun to watch Veronica roll her eyes in annoyance and nudge him, _that’s not the point, you dumbass._

Veronica knows the whole movie by heart and when she thinks he isn’t looking, she hums out the lines along with the characters. Jughead pretends not to notice, but of course he sees it. He keeps stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eye during the entirety of the film.

Which… isn’t that terrible. But it's not like he'd willingly admit it.

“Of course, it’s no Quentin Tarantino”, he states airily, which earns him a scowl.

The two raven haired teens spend an hour (if not more) discussing the movie. The cinematography. The aesthetics. The soundtrack. And of course, the ending. The largely controversial aspect of the movie. Strangely enough, while they typically disagree on numerous issues, thanks to their vastly different upbringings, Jughead and Veronica instantly agree that the happy ending does not do it justice.

“The Hollywood happy ending is frankly. . .” Jughead fixes his beanie absentmindedly as he trails off, looking for the right words, but Veronica beats him to it.

“. . .an insult to Truman Capote.” She finishes, and then they’re both smiling, an unfamiliar fluttery feeling settling within his stomach. And then it dawns on him how close to one another they are, his hand inches away from hers.

It’s Hermione that breaks the spell they’re under.

“Mija, Smithers tells me we have guests,” she begins politely as she steps into the living room, a smile on her lips that immediately disappears at the sight of Jughead. “. . . I didn’t know you were friends with Jughead Jones.”

_Friends._

He can feel Veronica’s frame freeze, subconsciously scooting away and he suddenly feels so out of place. Friends? They’re not friends, they’re the farthest thing from friends. Jughead Jones who lives in a trailer park does not get to be friends with the Park Avenue Princess herself. That’s not how life works. That’s not how _his_ life works.

The next thing he knows he’s rising to his feet, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and mumbling something about homework, an assignment they’re paired to do, but Veronica is quick to come to his rescue, closing her laptop casually.

“We’re classmates, mami.” She says as though it’s self-explanatory and nothing out of the ordinary that they’re hanging out together. “I’ll see you at school. . ?”

He hears her wonder, but he doesn’t answer as he’s already slipping out the door, exhaling a heavy breath once he exits the Pembrooke, the alternative universe he’d tumbled into. His mind is spinning with messy thoughts that he deals with by heading to Pop’s, stuffing himself with a burger and fries.

He’s not even done with the second portion when he retrieves his laptop. His fingers a blur across the keyboard as words and sentences pour down the document, page after page filling with text. _Two worlds that were never meant to collide come crashing into each other._

It’s late when the words finally die down.

As usual Jughead is the only one in the diner at this time of day, greedily taking a sip of his third cup of black coffee as he saves the word document before closing it with a sense of accomplishment blossoming within him. Against his better judgment, he’s already typing away at his phone, hitting send before his overthinking self gets the best of him.

_So that’s where the pearls are from._

Her reply is instant.

_Shut up, Varjak._

It’s a good thing Pop Tate is the only person to witness the goofy grin that sneaks onto Jughead’s lips upon reading her text.

They keep bantering and he's pleasantly surprised by the fact that she seems to get all his references that Archie and Betty typically mock or roll their eyes at because _what the hell, Jughead?_

He dozes off in his booth to the thought of tomorrow, wondering whether this odd connection between them would disappear once reality would set in.


End file.
